An economist at the helm of Belgium's leading museum: Kim Oosterlinck director of the Musées Royaux

An economist at the helm of Belgium’s leading museum. In fact, the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts in Brussels appointed a new director at the end of April, who will take office in July: he is 50-year-old Kim Oosterlinck, currently vice-chancellor of the Université Libre in Brussels and professor of finance at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics. He will succeed Sara Lammens, director-general of the Royal Library of Belgium, who took over as interim director of the museum after the April 30, 2023 departure of former director Michel Draguet, who resigned following allegations of racism, sexism, and homophobia made against him by staff. The main challenge for Oosterlinck will be to pursue the goals of cohesion in the work environment, which has been flaky since the Draguet affair, to continue with the museum’s renovations, and to initiate policies aimed at inclusivity.

Oosterlinck is a multifaceted figure who nevertheless has several ties to art: he holds a bachelor’s degree in art history, as well as degrees in archaeology and business engineering. His doctorate, on the other hand, is in management economics. As an economist, he specializes in the relationship between art and economics and is a scholar of the art market (he specialized in analyzing the impact of forgeries on the art market and the study of corporate collecting, and he also did studies on the art market of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands under Nazi occupation). In addition, he also taught cultural management at the Université Libre in Brussels from 2006 to 2011.

An economist at the helm of Belgium's leading museum: Kim Oosterlinck director of the Musées Royaux

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